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Curtis P. Clark

@classic_curt

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Some people are night owls.
Some people are morning birds.
But I love every second of every day.

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I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
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📸: @devlaminck.photo
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#photography #model #photographer #photoshoot #photo #portraitphotography #portrait #portraits #portraiture #portraitshots #photographer #igportraits #detroit #michigan #camera #streetphotography #photographylovers #photographyskills #photographylovers by @classic_curt

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5 years ago

Friends, colleagues, students, alumni today is officially my first week off payroll at Motion Picture Institute. As I type this my final class is attending graduation, an event I was banned from. It’s bittersweet, to say the least, but I want to focus on the sweet. For those of you who might be curious why I’m leaving or haven’t heard, see my letter in the last three photos.

They say teaching is a thankless job, but for me, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As an educator, you don’t always realize the impact you’re having, but my eyes have been completely opened. Since leaving, I’ve received 194 messages from students checking in, thanking me, or advocating on my behalf. Seeing that outpouring gave me my own Dead Poets Society moment, I will never forget it.

Leaving has been difficult. Over the past 6 years, for better or worse, this work became central to my identity. My students were a massive part of my life, and having that taken away left me feeling hollow. They trusted me with their mental health struggles, financial stresses, grief, and heartbreak. Carrying that was heavy, but what they might not know is that some of my hardest days were carried by their humor, conversations, and warmth.

Since the leadership change 2 years ago I knew my days were numbered because I saw the way they treated people. The hardest part isnt losing that community, what we built is too strong to disappear. It’s knowing I won’t get to keep building it in those halls. Maybe one day I’ll share stories about what happened behind the scenes, because some of the behavior is shocking. That’s the bitter part, and today is strictly reserved for the sweet. For now, I want to sit in gratitude for 6 years of real connection. I’ve learned so much about what it means to care for people

I am full of a bit of anxiety and a bit of excitement for the future

For the tl;dr here are the words of Gabriel García Márquez:
“Why can’t we view the departure as a beginning rather than an ending? What we take with us from those we cherish does not vanish into the air; it alters the shape of our steps. A parting is only the space across which we will one day speak again.”

Thank you for the days. by @classic_curt

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8 days ago

If you’re lonely why’d you say you’re not lonely?
Winter is thawing. What was left behind? by @classic_curt

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7 months ago

I’ve been up and down but I know one thing.
Each time I find myself flat on my face, I just pick myself up and get back in the race.
That’s life. I can’t deny it.
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2025, thank you for the days. by @classic_curt

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10 months ago

The wind has only begun to blow in the winter, while someone, somewhere is caught only half prepared for the coming chill.
We must hold onto what we need for the approaching cold. by @classic_curt

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a year ago

Our long bygone burdens mere echoes of the spring
As autumn colors fall, dancing in a swirl of golden memories 🍁 taken in Autumn by @classic_curt

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a year ago

Into the woods, and who can tell what’s waiting on the journey?
Into the woods, to get my wish.
Into the woods, to get the thing that makes it worth the journeying.
Into the woods, but mind the past.
Into the woods, but mind the future.
Into the woods.
(everything you learn there will help when you return there-)
Into the woods.
(the light is getting dimmer, I think I see a glimmer-)
Into the woods, to find there’s hope of getting through the journey.
Into the woods
and out of the woods
and home before dark
🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲
Another Summer gone. Wish it wasn’t. Same time next year? taken in Summertime by @classic_curt

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a year ago

And don’t you see I want my life to be something more than long
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Had a birthday, hope to have some more one day. Thank you for the well wishes and such.
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Lead player: Think about your life, Pippin. Think about the Sun.
Full Chorus: Rivers belong where they can ramble!
Eagles belong where they can fly…
Pippin: I’m not river or a giant bird that soars to the sea.
And if I’m never tied to anything I’ll never be free. taken in Imperial Theatre by @classic_curt

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a year ago

I’m floating in a most peculiar way taken in Spring Time by @classic_curt

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a year ago

Lying there in the sun, on a white sandy beach of Hawai’i
The sound of the ocean soothes my restless soul
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What a dream of a trip.
Where else in the world can you drive higher than the clouds, explore a rain forest, hike an erupting volcano, and swim with a sea turtle all in 90 hours.
The entire time I was there I felt overwhelmed with this awareness that everything around me had been there long before I was born and it will be there long after I’m gone.
In a lot of ways the Hawaiian culture has been reduced to a caricature of its self and we’ve failed in so many ways to preserve this place, yet there’s moments, feeling the ocean hit your feet, catching a rainbow in the mist, climbing through an ancient magma field, you can still be lucky enough to feel that connection with the land and you’ll get to leave with greater understanding that the responsibility to care for these places is passed down through generations. I’m now in the generation that may be the last line of defense for sacred spaces that being are sold to the highest bidder. You can honor the connection and reaffirm that responsibility or you can pass on something worse to those who come next.
Hawai’i is so much more than a nice view.
20 photos aren’t enough to sum up paradise, but that’s my summary of what I gained from this incredible trip. taken in Hawaii by @classic_curt

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2 years ago

I need love everyday taken in Here I am by @classic_curt

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2 years ago

If I had never felt the sunshine, hell I guess I would not curse the rain.
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2024: made worthwhile by the people I have found.
Thank you for the days. taken in 2024 by @classic_curt

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2 years ago